Josh Green has been easy to overlook in the LaMelo Ball trade, but he’s the kind of player who can quietly matter a lot for the Timberwolves.
LaMelo was the headliner, naturally. Still, Green brings something useful to Minnesota, even if his name hasn’t drawn nearly as much attention.
Part of the reason he’s been brushed aside is that the Timberwolves were reportedly considering moving him to help solve their power forward hole, a possibility that still exists in theory. That doesn’t mean Green is the problem.
It just means he isn’t a true four, and he’s one of the few contracts the Wolves can actually move.
If Minnesota keeps him, though, there’s a pretty clean fit here.
Green is exactly the kind of 3-and-D wing teams want in today’s NBA, even if that label gets tossed around too casually. Nearly half of his career shot attempts, 48.9 percent, have come from three-point range, and he’s hit 38.7 percent of those looks.
He’s not going to create a ton for himself, and his offense is limited outside of shooting. For his career, the 6-foot-6 wing has averaged just 4.9 field goals, with little self-creation or playmaking to speak of.
For the Timberwolves, that’s not a drawback. It’s a feature.
With Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels, and Ayo Dosunmu already providing plenty of creation, Minnesota doesn’t need Green to do more than keep the floor spaced and play his role. That kind of low-usage wing can fit right alongside stars, and it could even open a path for him to crack the starting five.
The other side of Green’s appeal is just as important. He’s a tough, active defender who usually takes on point-of-attack assignments, using his 6-foot-10 wingspan, strength, and IQ to make life harder for ballhandlers. Every team can use another defender like that.
That defensive value helped Green become a steady rotation piece on the 2024 Dallas Mavericks team that reached the NBA Finals.
His versatility may not get enough credit, either. Last season, he spent 31 percent of his time defending opposing power forwards, according to B-Ball Index. With his length and strength, he could handle more time against fours, and Minnesota may need that from him.
Is Green the long-term answer at power forward? Probably not.
Could he help cover the spot in the short term? Absolutely.
And really, that’s where his value shows up best. Green’s biggest strength is defense, which makes him a natural fit for a Timberwolves team that already has an established defensive identity.
That’s why players like this stick around in winning environments. Green isn’t flashy, and he probably lands somewhere around 20 minutes per game even if he starts. But he helps on both ends, doesn’t need touches, and can be a real asset for a team that already has plenty of talent.
Recent NBA champion Landry Shamet filled a similar role as a low-usage spot-up shooter and pesky defender for the New York Knicks. Alex Caruso is another example of the same type of player, even with the bigger playoff moments and his elite defense. The lesson is simple: low-maintenance glue guys matter.
That’s what makes Green such an interesting piece for Minnesota. He may not be the name Timberwolves fans are buzzing about, but he could end up being a lot more useful than people expect.
In Other News...
Timberwolves Just Made Ayo Dosunmu Even More Important
Ayo Dosunmu has already become a central piece of Minnesotas plans since arriving in a trade six months ago, then quickly turning that move into a long-term stay. The guards production last season, when he averaged 14.8 points, 3.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds with strong shooting efficiency, made it easy to see why the Timberwolves moved to keep him in the fold. He brought scoring punch, playmaking and a level of reliability that fit into a roster still trying to define its next shape.
Now the question is less about whether Dosunmu belongs and more about how Minnesota builds around him. The Timberwolves have major money committed to him, LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards, which only sharpens the stakes for every roster decision that follows. When that much salary is concentrated in three players, the pressure shifts to balance, depth and size, and it leaves the front office trying to make sure the pieces around them fit cleanly enough to justify the investment. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves May Have Finally Found A Way To Unlock Rudy Gobert
The Timberwolves spent the offseason reworking the pieces around Rudy Gobert with a clear idea in mind: give him a cleaner offensive environment and make the most of what he still does best. Minnesota was looking for more spacing and more playmaking, the sort of structural changes that can keep Gobert from being treated like an awkward fit on that end of the floor and instead make him part of a more functional attack.
A big part of the early push has been about cohesion as much as tactics, with the team arranging workouts in Gobert's home country of France. It is the kind of setting that can help a group speed up the chemistry process before camp even starts, especially for a roster that still has to prove the new mix can work in real games. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Edwards Faces A Frustrating Timberwolves Contract Twist
Anthony Edwards has already become the face of the Timberwolves, but the next step in his contract situation comes with an awkward layer of NBA math. Because he played 61 games last season, he missed the 65-game threshold tied to award eligibility, which means he is not automatically on track for a four-year, $301 million supermax extension next offseason.
Instead, Edwards will need an All-NBA selection in the upcoming season to put himself back on the path for the bigger payday next summer. If that does not happen, the timeline pushes back to 2028, and the Wolves would be looking at a different kind of extension picture, one shaped by the leagues award-based rules more than by how a team values its star. [Read more 🡒]